Prayer At Snowpoint Temple
by CafeJazz
Summary: It was easy they said. It's just shovelling snow they said. How difficult could it be? As it turns out, very, very difficult. Candice discovers the job of a gym leader was never meant to be easy.


She picked up the shovel and stepped out into the cold early morning.

Being a gym leader wasn't easy. They were the most powerful trainers of their city and so they acted not only as the leader of their gym but also the leader of the people living there. That meant they were given the highest of all responsibilities for their city. Keeping people safe from wild pokemon, overseeing the building of infrastructure, holding council meetings to listen for feedback and suggestions from the citizens, it was all part of the job as a leader.

If only Candice was told she would also have to shovel the snow around the temple as well before she became the gym leader of Snowpoint City.

She buried her face into the long, stripey blue and white scarf around her neck and waded through the knee-high snow that was growing inch by inch in the blizzard pummeling the city.

It was an easy job they said. Just clear the snow from the temple's property they said. What they didn't say was why she needed to get up at 4 am in the morning on a Sunday to clear the snow in a blizzard. By herself. Even though no one, absolutely no one from the public, was allowed in.

It was no wonder Snowpoint City had such a high turnover rate of gym leaders. It was a difficult city to grow old in with all the snow immobilizing transportation and frankly, Candice doubted all the young aspiring gym leaders would want to have permanent back pain once they grew old from shovelling the snow at the temple entrance every week. They weren't even paid extra to shovel the snow at such an ungodly hour! Why did they even hire guards for the temple if all they did was stand around all day?

She had to focus. She was losing focus. Candice trudged firmly through the forest. She was not going to become part of that turnover rate for Snowpoint gym leaders. She was going to stick with it and show Cynthia what she was made of and impress her and hopefully be moved to a warmer town by the end of the month to set up a new gym. All she needed was focus. Well, that and good arm strength.

She started shovelling the snow, tossing the heavy, damp sheets of it into the snow banks on the outskirts of the forest. Trudge, shove, lift, grunt, and toss she went as she slowly made her way closer to the temple. Not for the first time, and definitely not for the last, she wished she had her pokemon with her, both to keep her company and help her shovel the snow. But noooo… Cynthia specifically told her to refrain from bringing her pokemon and to prevent the guards from coming in for work between 4 am and 6 am on Sunday. Shovelling snow by herself, according to the champion, would help develop her character and strength.

Life was already hard enough up north. Here she was without any friends who could just visit her on a whim, frequent power outages, and no chance to wear cute mini skirts without getting hypothermia. She didn't need more exercises to develop strength and character. Candice huffed as she strained her arms lifting an especially heavy batch of snow. Besides, how would Cynthia, sorry, Champion Cynthia _,_ even know if she had her abomasnow take turns with her to shovel? What, did she have hordes of gible spying and reporting on every gym leaders' movements? Pfft. She smirked at the thought. The gible wouldn't stand a chance in these conditions and with the abundance of wild ice-type pokemon in the area. Maybe they should be the ones developing strength and character instead.

She shovelled all the way until she finally saw the pillars and roof, made of blue-white stone, or rather stone and ice, poking over the treetops and eventually looming above her as she stood at the very front and center of the ancient tomb. She stopped to catch her breath, which was coming out in thin wisps from her mouth as she drew cold air in and out.

In a way, it was understandable why the Pokemon League of Sinnoh would station a gym leader in Snowpoint city. Not only was it a good idea to have some regulation and control in the sparsely populated area so it wouldn't become a desolate wasteland, it was also a good idea to have someone preserving and taking care of the historical monuments and artifacts in the area. The temple, in all its glory, made for a stunning sight even in the grey blizzard swirling around it. Its high pillars and arches stood impressively against the test of time and it would've been a shame for Sinnoh to lose a part of its history and lore to rowdy teenagers who would be tempted to trash the temple.

Candice stood still as she admired the front of the temple a little longer. She'd only been in it a few times. Contrary to everyone's conspiracies, there was nothing of interest in there—no hidden treasure, secret laboratories, or rare pokemon, well unless the sleeping Regigigas counted. The statuesque figure of the legendary made her yelp the first time she reached the deepest level of the temple and it did give her the creeps after she learned that the pokemon was actually not a statue but alive and dormant. But it wasn't like it was going to wake anytime soon if the last thousand of years were to go by.

It'd probably boost the tourism in Snowpoint if the temple was opened up to the public. Hmm… she should've brought that up at the last league meeting. Maybe then, her hard work every Sunday wouldn't go to waste.

She started shovelling the snow again, hastily. She was going to be late opening up her gym and she sighed again. Never before had she had to work so hard—she had to keep her gym open on Sunday! And to think she thought the process of becoming a gym leader was exhausting enough! Nope, it wasn't good enough lazing around in a gym waiting for trainers to come. Personal training, teaching others battling, holding town meetings, that was all part of her job.

If it was even possible, the blizzard seemed to be blowing harder and harder as the wind rushed past her and caused her dark hair to fly into her face. The wind slowed and Candice moved out of her brace position when suddenly a strong gust blew into her and she toppled into the snow.

"Mmmph!" She struggled to stand up again as the snow and the wind continued pushing her down. The wind grew stronger into a gale force so unnaturally powerful that Candice felt like she was trying to push open a pull door.

This was it. She was going to die here on this very piece of land only a month into her new job as a gym leader. She could almost imagine her tombstone, carved with the words "At least she tried" or something to that sort.

No, no, no, no! She couldn't die now. She couldn't stand the thought of the other gym leaders' reactions if they learned that she had died by, of all things, shovelling snow. Candice lay on the ground, the coldness seeping through her clothes, breathing heavily before mustering all her strength to get up again. She needed to get back.

It was like the snow and wind were conspiring against her, intent on burying her into a sea of white where her body would be hidden for ages until some unfortunate soul stumbled onto it but Candice managed to stumble onto unsteady legs and lean against her shovel when she caught sight of something.

Her heart thumped in her chest as she made out through the flying snow and the strands of hair sticking to her face three large, jagged silhouettes in the distance. She instinctively reached down to her coat pockets to draw out her abomasnow, her stiff hands catching at nothing but lint. She cursed at herself for not at least bringing a few of her pokemon with her—Cynthia never said she had to leave them at home.

She abandoned her shovel and ran, as fast as she could, as well as she could through the ever-growing layers of snow, looking back ever so often. They were coming towards her, strange dotted lights on their bodies appearing through the grey and she desperately waded through the snow, choking on the cold air when all of a sudden the ground shook intensely and a bellowing roar coming from the direction of the temple followed after. Candice crumpled to the ground.

What. Was. That. Her teeth chattered and she wrapped her arms around herself. She willed her legs to work again but it was no use. Too numb from the cold, her muscles too tense to even stretch out.

It wasn't her day was it? She sighed, her eyes closing briefly before she forced them to open again. She shouldn't have worn such a thin coat, she should've brought her pokemon, she should've just focused on finding her passion in an office setting. It wasn't meant to be, this gig, this job, her dream. No fame, no power, no matter what, this was how it was to be, no matter how much focus she had.

She turned her head as another roar shook the earth and she could just make out a single silhouette in the distance emerging from the almost obscured temple, stomping heavily towards her, its bright lights shining like safety beacons in the swirling air. It was bigger than the three figures she saw before and as she closed her eyes and relaxed into the bed of white, it dawned on her that what she was witnessing was the awakening of the beast within in the temple she had so failed to guard.

* * *

The ground shook dangerously, threatening to crack open and reveal the lava below, threatening to swallow up the people and pokemon screaming in terror. They were figures too small against the force of the earth and Candice looked on, unable to tear her gaze away, unable to move, unable to shout, unable to do anything to help.

Regigigas stomped into her view and roared while ripping up the fresh flesh of the earth, tearing it like it was no more than a piece of tissue, its colossal form shadowing the ruined earth. In the distance, Candice could just make out the figures of the trio of Legendary Titans—ice, rock, steel bodies with colourful dots blinking rapidly.

Then Regigigas turned to her and in a second, whatever safe land she stood on was torn and she fell into the body of the earth, lava hissing and spraying up until there was nothing at all.

* * *

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._

Candice lifted her heavy eyelids before shutting them again. It was too bright. Was Heaven supposed to be blinding?

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._

She tried again, this time managing to keep them open longer than a few seconds before closing them again. She didn't know heaven was lit by ugly fluorescent lights. Ughh…

"She's stirring."

She opened her eyes again. Maybe she was actually in Hell. There's no way Heaven would have ugly lights and grey ceiling tiles. Maybe this was how she was going to be punished: an eternity of staring at blinding white lights and colourless office interiors.

"Candice?"

"Yes?" she croaked out.

All of a sudden, a face loomed over her and she cried out, only her cries came out more like the sound a strangled weavile would make.

After her panic dissolved, her eyes adjusted and she made out the features of a woman. Grey eyes, long blonde hair, long face…

She sat up straight, breaking off a few tubes she didn't realize were attached to her while a couple of women immediately rushed to her as she yelped in pain from the sudden action. The gatekeeper of Hell was—

Wait. Tubes, monitors with numbers and lines, nurses in scrubs, the horrifically unfashionable hospital tunic she was currently wearing, and not to forget, the smell of plastic gloves and antibacterial soap all pointed to one thing.

"I'm not dead," she voiced out loud.

"Your glaceon sensed something was wrong so she escaped from your house and brought someone to rescue you," Cynthia said coolly as she leaned against the wall beside her bed. "She found you almost completely buried in the snow right outside the boundaries of Snowpoint Temple. Lucky for you, you still have all your toes and fingers."

Candice looked at her hands to see they were wrapped up tightly in gauze. In fact, most of her appendages were wrapped in gauze and she could feel the dull throbbing pain from her frostbitten skin.

Cynthia waved the nurses out of the room and she sat down beside her bed. "You had a vision. Tell me about it."

How did she know?

How did she know she imagined everything?

"There were three figures with dotted lights coming, and, uh, and…" Her voice was so dry. Cynthia handed her a glass of water and she took a huge gulp of water before continuing.

"And then the ground shook and there was a roar from the temple. Then I think I blacked out before waking up t-to Regigigas destroying everything. That...all that didn't happen?" She took another gulp of water.

Cynthia didn't even look surprised. Like she expected Candice to tell her all that.

"No. That was a vision." Cynthia paused. "You're not the first one to get it."

"What are you talking about?" Candice shifted uneasily in her sheets.

"Do you remember the lore behind the Legendary Titans and their leader?"

"They were created by Regigigas and sealed in Hoenn. Regigigas was worshipped in the past but was sealed because of its tremendous power," Candice said. Trainer school History 101 was her strength.

The older woman offered a slight smile. "And do you know what would happen if the trio is awakened and brought to the temple?"

"They… might wake up their master? What happens if Regigigas wakes?" Candice said, sudden realization settling in. This was the part that was never taught and she started to have a hunch on why.

"Well, we don't know what exactly would happen if Regigigas were to awake. It could go on a rampage. Or it might be peaceful and friendly. No one knows for sure. And hopefully we never have to know for sure," she added. "That's where you come in. Remember the contract when you accepted this position as gym leader of Snowpoint?" Cynthia said.

Candice nodded.

"There's no change to that. You still have to battle trainers, keep you and your pokemon in shape, and organize Snowpoint City's affairs," Cynthia continued. "But now you know the reason why you also have to shovel the snow in front of the temple every Sunday and why you have to make sure no one goes in. It has to be respected and left undisturbed. Bring an offering and prayer to it once in a while as well, just to make sure it's respected fully so if, god forbid it does wake, it'll come in peace. Easy peasy really. And honestly, it hasn't woken in thousands of years so it's unlikely it will now. But—" and here, her voice lowered, "—it still can."

She smiled brightly and her tone shifted. "Of course, it would be unfair to unload all this information on you now so I'll give you a choice. Your one-month probationary period has just ended and the League has accepted your performance thus far and will accept you as the leader of Snowpoint Gym. Only thing now is, after knowing all this, do you still want be the leader? There will be no consequences if you decide to cancel your job contract. You will be paid in full for your month here and given severance pay until you find another job."

Candice gulped. From the way Cynthia was looking at her, it seemed like she had to decide now even though she could barely process all the information given to her. What did she mean, she had to protect the temple and pay her respects by clearing snow and give offerings? To prevent Regigigas's awakening? To prevent Regigigas's destructive awakening? It was all on her to prevent the death of the world as they knew it! Just her, a 20-something-year-old who only finished school a few years ago and had more of a passion for pastel skirts and gossip magazines than preventing the world from total destruction. She was about to open her mouth to say "Sorry, I think I'll pass" when she caught the champion's gaze.

She was still smiling nonchalantly as if she just asked Candice to join her for a weekly cup of coffee and a shopping trip to Veilstone every other Thursday but Candice felt something uneasy in her intense stare. Easy peasy, she said. Just shovel snow and bring offerings, she said.

I dare you. Or are you too scared? She was _saying_.

The champion was the epitome of elegance and composure and that was reflected in her spoken thoughts. But her eyes always revealed the truth. And the truth was, she expected Candice to decline her offer, didn't she? Like all the other past leaders. She expected Candice to be overwhelmed by it all. She expected her to be _weak._

"I'll accept this position. I want to continue being the gym leader of Snowpoint City," Candice said. "I accept my responsibilities that come with it and I will do my best to fulfill those duties." She looked at Cynthia in the eyes for as long she could stand, waiting for her reply.

Cynthia's gaze lingered on her for a while before she spoke. "Very well. Welcome officially to the Pokemon League of Sinnoh, Candice. I'm sure all of us leaders will look forward to seeing your abilities in the next couple of months. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll have to report it to the league officials. In the next couple of weeks, a form will be delivered to you to confirm your acceptance into the league. For now, please rest as long as you need and take some time off from the gym." She stood up to leave and right before she left the room she stopped.

"One more thing," she said without turning. "The reasons for your duties as guardian of Snowpoint Temple are entirely confidential and will only be between you and me. That vision you had as well is private and under no circumstances are you allowed to give any of that information about the legendary pokemon's potential awakening to anyone. But I'm sure that won't be a problem."

"How about all those previous gym leaders who left who know all this? Couldn't they tell the public anytime?" Candice said.

The champion turned slightly. "Oddly enough, none of them remember the second part to the Legendary Trio and their Master's legend. Nor do they remember any dreams or visions related to them." And with that, she swiftly left the room, her heels echoing down the halls of the hospital tiles until they faded into the ambience of the building.

Candice leaned her head back against the backboard of the bed and closed her eyes, exhaling a long breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. What had she done, what had she done, what had she done! Guardian of Snowpoint Temple? She should've just swallowed her pride and told Cynthia that she just wasn't up to the task of preventing the world from being wiped from the universe. That her conscience just wouldn't allow it.

But where would she go if she quit? Back to the desk, picking up call after call, all the while staring at coffee-stained carpets and monochrome walls? Back to the fields where she would toil out the rest of her days in dirt and sweat and sun?

Her heart wouldn't allow it.

All she needed to do was focus. After all, that was what helped her reach this far, right?

So what more could a little shovelling of snow and a little prayer every other week do to her?

That's right. She opened her eyes again and clenched her tattered hands into fists. She was Candice, gym leader of Snowpoint City and whether in battle or in saving the world or in getting the best deals at Veilstone Department Store's biggest sales day of the year, she wasn't going to go down so easily. She was ready for anything.

"Come at me world," she whispered. "I won't lose."

* * *

 **End.**

* * *

 _And every Sunday, a lone figure picks up the shovel and steps out into the frozen dawn, ready for another day to come._


End file.
